Accident-free House Training

Ever wondered if it's possible to house train your pup without accidents? Well, I have good news for you. It is! Just follow these simple steps and you can house train your new puppy with absolutely no accidents!

An 8-week-old puppy is on about a 90 minute cycle. They wake up, go potty, play, go potty again, eat, and go back to sleep. They're predictable. And we can use this to our advantage! Try this:

1) Put your puppy in their crate with a yummy treat or their meal. They will eat and then fall asleep. Set a time for 60-90 minutes (if they wake up before this time, proceed to step 2)

2) When the timer goes off (or your puppy wakes up), get them out of their crate, put their leash on them, and walk them to their outdoor potty spot.

3) Freeze. Tell them to "go potty!" and wait. They will probably pee right away. As soon as they are finished, give them a few treats (preferably more than one because they deserve a big treat for going potty outside!). Now tell them to "go potty" again and wait (just in case they need to poop).

4) Bring them back inside for some playtime or training for about 15-30 minutes. During this time keep them with you on the leash. If allowed to spend time alone, chances are they will head to a quiet part of the house and go potty!

5) Repeat step 3.

6) Put them back in their crate with a treat or a meal and start again at Step 2.

That's it! Accident free house training. And believe it or not, I've had multiple clients tell me that they have actually had puppies who never went potty in the house because they followed this method!

Tips:

If you aren't using the crate, always keep the puppy next to you on the leash.

If your puppy does have an accident in the house and you don't catch them, ignore it and clean with a cleaner specifically made for pet odors. Do not correct them. Chances are, your puppy will not understand what they did wrong and will become afraid of going potty in front of you, being in the room where you corrected them, or maybe even hanging out with you when you're wearing that red shirt!

If your puppy has an accident in the house and you DO catch them, say, "Outside, outside!" in a rushed voice as you escort them outside to their potty spot. Again, don't correct them. They just need to know what they SHOULD do!

As always, if you have questions feel free to contact us!